AI in Investments - Joint WBS Gillmore Centre & CFA UK Online

AI in Investment Management: Mapping Comfort Zones, Constraints, and the Path to Alpha

Partnered with CFA Institute Research and Policy Centre

Featuring leaders in quantitative research, portfolio strategy, and investment innovation
this panel dives into the practical realities of applying AI inside real investment firms. Rather than abstract theory, the discussion will focus on live use cases, operational constraints, governance considerations, and organisation-level adoption patterns. Speakers will share how they evaluate AI tools, where they are deploying them today, and how they expect workflows to evolve over the next 12–24 months. The conversation will explore both the "comfort zones" where AI is already delivering measurable gains (e.g., research automation, NLP-driven insights, data quality checks) and the frontier areas where practical constraints — model risk, compliance, data lineage, interpretability — remain the dominant blockers. 

17.55 - Welcoming Talk Dan Philps, Rothko Investment Strategies and WBS Gillmore Centre 

18.00-19.00 - Short talks  

  • AI's implications for professional standards - a practical approach for analysts. Julan Al-Yassin, Director, Learning Content, CFA Institute 
  •  James Hadfield, Senior Risk Leader, former roles at CVC Capital Partners, Ninety One, Close Brothers
  • Simon Legrand-Green, CFA, Head of Multi Asset and Systematic Strategies Research, WTW 
  • Carlos Salas, CFA, CQF, Portfolio Manager, Investment Research, ML/AI 

19.00-19.30- Q&A moderated by Dan Philps, Rothko Investment Strategies and WBS Gillmore Centre 

19.30- close online session